Vol. 2, No. 2: April 2009

The City of the Big Shoulders has been on our minds, and the April issue of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History is packed with interesting tales and little known information about Chicago's underworld:

• Richard Warner examines the life and times of Windy City Mafia boss Anthony D'Andrea.
• Thomas Hunt tells of some of Chicago's earliest Mafia leaders in the city's NW section.
• Bill Feather provides a detailed chart of Chicago Outfit members in the 1920s-40s era.
• Crime Historian Arthur Bilek describes his law enforcement and writing careers.
• The Informer responds to a question on the Chicago Heights Mafia.
• On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, we reflect on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

... Plus a review of David Critchley's groundbreaking history of the early New York Mafia, A Look Back, book notes and current events.

This issue will be available by April 27.

Purchasing becomes quicker and easier

Some online magazine purchasers objected to having to open an account with MagCloud in order to purchase magazines. The publishing service has responded by allowing "anonymous" purchases. Here's MagCloud's announcement:

"We like it when shoppers become members - it allows us to give them order tracking pages, address books, and other fun features - but if you just want to pick up a magazine, we don't want to stand in your way. So now anyone can buy a magazine with a credit card or PayPal without having to become a member."

MagCloud also introduced a quicker checkout process and speedier shipping options. We're confident that these changes will make ordering a copy of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History significantly easier. Click here to visit the journal on MagCloud.

Informer now available in US, UK, Canada

Preprinted copies of Informer can now be shipped to addresses in the United Kingdom and Canada, in addition to the United States. When the Informer print edition was first announced on Sept. 24, 2008, copies could be shipped only to U.S. addresses, due to restrictions imposed by the MagCloud print-on-demand service. MagCloud recently expanded its service area. We are not yet able to offer UK or Canada subscriptions to the print edition.

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Vol. 2, No. 1: January 2009

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents

A 1909 secret mission for the New York Police Department sent Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, leader of the Italian Squad and nemesis of the Sicilian-Italian underworld, into a lion's den. Unknown assassins took his life in Palermo, the Mafia's legendary birthplace. Petrosino is remembered for his toughness, his bulldog tenacity and his selfless devotion to duty. This issue of Informer is dedicated to Petrosino's memory and the sterling example he has provided to generations of Italian-Americans.

We are delighted to call our readers' attention to a new Informer feature - crime family membership charts. This issue holds a detailed chart of the early Kansas City crime family, 1910s-1940s, compiled by researcher Bill Feather. We hope to bring you a new membership chart each quarter.

In this issue we conclude our two-part series, The Mob's Worst Year: 1957. Part 2 includes a discussion of Albert Anastasia's murder, the Apalachin underworld convention and the sudden awakening of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to the existence of the Mafia.

Books coverage in this issue includes an interview with Scott Deitche, author of The Silent Don and Cigar City Mafia; David Critchley's review of Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950 by William Ouseley; a review of The Last Undercover by Bob Hamer; and additional news.

Martyr: Joseph Petrosino. A century ago, Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the New York Police Department was shot to death while on assignment in a foreign land. Eighteen pages including sidebar and endnotes. (Preview)

The Mob's Worst Year: 1957, Part 2 of 2. Fifty years ago, lawmakers, enforcement officials and the American public finally became aware of the depth and breadth of the Mafia underworld. Nine and a half pages including endnotes. (Preview)

Kansas City Mafia Membership Chart, 1910s-1940s, by Bill Feather. Three and a half pages including notes. (Preview)

Interview with Scott Deitche, author of The Silent Don and Cigar City Mafia. Two and a half pages.

Book review by David Critchley of William Ouseley's Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950. Two pages.

Book review of The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dance with Evil by Bob Hamer. One page.

Cumberland House True Crime Titles Search for Homes. One and a half pages.

Books: New Releases. Half page.

Ask the Informer: Sam Pollaccia / The Society of the Banana. One page. (Preview)

Current Events: Top 10 U.S. Mob News Stories of 2008. Two and a half pages.

Deaths: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Salvatore Scala, Frank J. Valenti, Anthony Spero. Two pages.

A Look Back: 1 year ago; 25 years ago; 50 years ago; 100 years ago. One page. (Preview)

Bulletins: Gangster History Convention, On the Spot Journal, Mob Tours, National Museum of Crime and Punishment. Half page.

Letters. Half page.

56 pages including cover and advertisements.
Published Jan. 26, 2009.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

Martyr: Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
Feature Article

A century ago, Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the

New York Police Department was shot to death

while on assignment in a foreign land.

Martyr

by Thomas Hunt

First paragraph:
"'Petrosino was a great man, a good man,' former President Theodore Roosevelt told the press. 'I knew him for years, and he did not know the name of fear. He was a man worth while. I regret most sincerely the death of such a man as Joe Petrosino.'"

Sixteen pages article body
including sidebar story
Two pages of endnotes
Eleven images.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

Kansas City Mafia Members, 1910s-1940s

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
Membership Chart

Researcher Bill Feather provides a chart of early Kansas City Mafia membership.

Names, aliases, birth-death-immigration data, birthplaces and ranks for dozens of members and suspected members of the KC Outfit.

Three pages.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

The Mob's Worst Year: 1957 - Part Two

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
Feature Article
Part 2 of 2

Fifty years ago, lawmakers, enforcement officials

and the American public finally became aware

of the depth and breadth of the Mafia underworld.

The Mob's Worst Year

by Thomas Hunt

First paragraph:
"Albert Anastasia’s death in 'the chair' might have been preordained. The legendary Mafia boss and accomplished murderer managed to escape death in Sing Sing Prison’s electric chair in 1921, only to meet his end in a barber chair 35 years later."


Seven and a half pages article body
Two pages of endnotes
Seven images.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

Book news and reviews

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
Book news and reviews

Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family
by William Ouseley
Reviewed by David Critchley.

The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dance with Evil
by Bob Hamer

Cumberland House true crime titles search for homes

An interview with Scott Deitche

New releases: The Origin of Organized Crime in America by David Critchley; Mob Boss by Mike Hudson; Gomorrah (paperback reprint) by Roberto Saviano and Virginia Jewiss.

On the way: Mafia Son by Sandra Harmon; The First Family by Mike Dash.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

In the News

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents

In the News:

• Informer's list of the top 10 mob news stories of 2008

Deaths:

• Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal
• Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala
• Frank J. Valenti
• Anthony Spero

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.

Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

A Look Back

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
A Look Back

100 years ago:
NYPD Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino assassinated in Sicily.

50 years ago:
Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista forced into exile.

25 years ago:
Pizza Connection broken up.

1 year ago:
Salvatore Bonanno died after heart attack.

Click here to preview or purchase this issue.

Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

Ask the Informer: Pollaccia; Society of Banana

Vol. 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2009 Contents
Ask the Informer


Question:
Was Sam Pollaccia really a key figure in the early New York Mafia?


Question:
What was the Society of the Banana?


Click here to preview or purchase this issue.
Or subscribe to Informer using the links at right.

GIFT IDEA for the crime history aficionado

Looking for a unique holiday present for a crime history aficionado? A one-year gift subscription to the electronic edition of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History is bargain priced at just $18 through Jan. 1, 2009. Recipients will have online access to a year of Informer's historical articles, book reviews, photos and more.

[Sorry, we no longer offer subscriptions to Informer.]

To purchase a gift subscription to Informer's electronic edition for just $18, simply click on the link below and complete your purchase through Paypal's secure online checkout. Don't forget to note the e-mail address of the recipient, so we can let him or her know when each new issue is available for download.

UPDATE: Subscriptions to the PRINT EDITION of Informer - a professionally printed, bound and mailed journal - are now available (U.S. addresses only). See the Subscriptions information at right.

Sample issue available on Scribd.com

The first electronic issue of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia history is now available for free download through Scribd.com, the popular San Francisco-based document hosting and sharing service. The issue was published in September 2008 and contains articles on the mob's worst year (1957), the 1891 New Orleans lynchings, Al Capone ally Fred "Killer" Burke, and Kansas City Mafia boss Joseph DiGiovanni. It also includes book reviews, current events, an author interview and more.

Grab this free electronic sample issue by clicking here

and selecting the Download Adobe Acrobat PDF option.

The same issue is also available for sale as a professionally printed journal through the MagCloud.com service. The contents are the same, but the hardcopy Informer is expertly printed in full color on sturdy, matte-finish stock. It is carefully packaged for mailing and usually arrives within 10 days of order. (Unfortunately, the preprinted edition of Informer can only be shipped to United States addresses at this time.)

Purchase the preprinted, mailed edition

of Informer by clicking here.

Special subscription price 'til Jan. 1, 2009

Subscribe to the electronic edition of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History before Jan. 1, 2009, and save. Use the subscribe button in the right column of this page to purchase four quarterly issues of Informer for $18, a savings of 18% off the regular subscription price.

Not sure? Take a look at Informer Issue #1 for free. Click here and then select the Download button. (To date, more than 250 individuals interested in American Mafia history and current events have downloaded Issue #1.)